1. Field
This invention relates to apparatus for use in refurbishing components for wooden pallets and, more particularly, this invention relates to a salvage apparatus for flattening nail stubble on top and bottom surfaces of a pallet stringer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of devices have been developed to facilitate the assembly and repair of wooden pallets. Some devices, such as the present invention, have been developed primarily for disassembling damaged pallets and refurbishing the components for use in manufacturing recycled pallets. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,740,815, issued Jun. 26, 1973 to Campbell, et al., and 4,945,626, issued Aug. 7, 1990 to Dykstra, et al. Both the '815 and '626 patents disclose apparatus for disassembling damaged pallets, but neither discloses an apparatus for eliminating the nail stubble commonly occurring on top and bottom surfaces of the removed stringers.
There is an apparatus well known in the prior art for flattening nail stubble along top and bottom surfaces of stringers. The apparatus consist of a roller-type conveyor having a flattening station comprising a plurality of vertically orientated rollers disposed along either side of the conveyor, forming a narrow channel through which a stringer is directed. The vertical rollers exert considerable compressive force on both the top and bottom surfaces of each stringer, thereby flattening the nail stubble thereon as the stringer is moved through the rollers by the conveyor. This method of flattening nail stubble is unacceptably time consuming and labor intensive, and has been found generally insufficient at handling high production volumes.